In Gameplay : the invariant structures and varieties of the video game gameplay experience

This dissertation is a multidisciplinary study on video game gameplay as an autonomous form of vernacular experience. Plays and games are traditional research subjects in folkloristics, but commercial video games have not been studied yet. For this reason, methods and concepts of the folkloristic research tradition have remained unknown in contemporary games studies. This thesis combines folkloristics, game studies and phenomenological enactive cognitive science in its investigations into player–game interaction and the video game gameplay experience at large. In this dissertation, three representative survey samples (N=2,594, N=845, N=1,053) on “Rewarding gameplay experience” are analyzed using statistical analysis methods. The samples were collected in 2014–2017 from Finnish and Danish adult populations. This dissertation also analyzes data from 32 interviews, through which the survey respondents’ gameplay preferences, gaming memories, and motivations to play were further investigated. By combining statistical and qualitative data analyses, this work puts forward a mixed-methods research strategy and discusses how the findings relate to prior game research from several disciplines and schools of thought. Based on theoretical discussions, this dissertation argues that the video game gameplay experience as a cultural phenomenon consists of eight invariants in relation to which each individual gameplay experience can be interpreted: The player must demonstrate a lusory attitude (i), and a motivation to play (ii). The gameplay experience consists of explorative and coordinative practices (iii), which engender a change in the player’s self-experience (iv). This change renders the gameplay experience inherently emotional (v) and performative (vi) in relation to the gameworld (vii). The gameplay experience has the dramatic structure of a prototypical narrative (viii) although a game as an object cannot be regarded a narrative in itself. As a key result of factor analytical studies and qualitative interview analyses, a novel approach to understanding player–game interaction is put forward. An original gameplay preference research tool and a player typology are introduced. This work argues, that, although video games as commercial products would not be intuitive research subjects for folkloristics, video game gameplay, player–game interaction, and the traditions in experiencing and narrating gameplay do not differ drastically from those of traditional social games. In contrast to this, all forms of gameplay are argued to be manifestations of the same vernacular phenomenon. Indeed, folkloristic research could pay more attention to how culture is experienced, modified, varied and expressed, regardless of whether the research subject is a commercial product or not.Käsillä oleva väitöskirja on monitieteellinen tutkimus videopelien pelaamisesta itsenäisenä kansanomaisen kokemuksen muotona. Pelien ja leikkien tutkimus on perinteikäs tutkimusaihe folkloristiikassa, mutta kaupallisten videopelien tutkimusta ei ole juuri tehty. Tästä syystä folkloristiikan tutkimusmenetelmät ja -käsitteet ovat jääneet tuntemattomaksi nykyaikaisessa pelitutkimuksessa. Tutkimus yhdistää folkloristiikan ja pelitutkimuksen näkökulmien lisäksi enaktiivisen kognition fenomenologista teoriaa pelaaja–peli-vuorovaikutuksen tutkimukseen sekä pelikokemuksen analyysiin. Tutkimuksessa analysoidaan tilastotieteellisin menetelmin kolmea aikuisväestöä edustavaa ”Palkitseva pelikokemus” -kyselytutkimusaineistoa (N=2,594, N=845, N=1,053), jotka kerättiin Suomesta ja Tanskasta vuosina 2014–2017. Kyselytutkimusaineiston rinnalla analysoidaan 32 teemahaastattelun aineistoa. Haastatteluilla tuotettiin syvempää ymmärrystä kyselyyn vastanneiden henkilöiden pelimieltymyksistä, pelimuistoista ja pelimotivaatioista. Tilastoaineiston ja haastatteluaineiston analyysi tuodaan yhteen monimenetelmällisellä ja dialogisella tutkimusotteella, joka yhdistää havainnot usealla eri tutkimusalalla tehtyyn pelitutkimukseen. Teoreettisen analyysin tuloksena argumentoidaan, että videopelien pelikokemusta ilmiönä määrittää kahdeksan muuttumatonta ominaisuutta, joiden suhteen kunkin yksittäisen pelikokemuksen ainutlaatuisuutta voidaan tarkastella: Pelaajalla tulee olla leikkisä asenne (i) ja motivaatio pelaamiseen (ii). Pelaamisen kokemus rakentuu tutkivista ja suorittavista käyntänteistä (iii), jotka tuovat väliaikaisen muutoksen pelaavan henkilön minäkokemukseen (iv). Tämän muutoksen myötä pelaajuudesta muodostuu emotionaalinen (v) ja performatiivinen (vi) positio suhteessa pelimaailmaan (vii). Näin syntyvän omakohtaisen pelikokemuksen rakenne vastaa kertomuksen dramaattista perusrakennetta (viii), vaikka peliä itsessään ei voida pitää kertomuksena. Tutkimuksen empiirisenä tuloksena esitellään faktorianalyyttisiin tapaustutkimuksiin ja laadullisten aineistojen analyysiin perustuva uudenlainen näkökulma ja menetelmä pelaaja–peli-vuorovaikutuksen ja pelimieltymyksen tutkimukseen, sekä edelliseen perustuva pelaajatyyppiluokittelu. Samalla väitetään, että vaikka videopelit kaupallisina esineinä eivät olisi folkloristiikan tutkimuskohteita, videopelien pelaaminen, pelaaja–peli-vuorovaikutus ja pelien kokemisen tavat eivät eroa ratkaisevasti pihaleikeistä vaan ovat saman kansanomaisen ilmiön esiintymiä. Folkloristisen tutkimuksen soisikin kiinnittävän nykyistä painokkaampaa huomiota kulttuurin kokemisen, muokkaamisen ja ilmaisun tapoihin riippumatta siitä, onko tarkastelun kohteena kaupallinen tuote vai ei

Five-Factor Inventory of Intrinsic Motivations to Gameplay (IMG)

In this study, we develop and validate Intrinsic Motivations to Gameplay (IMG) inventory. In Study 1, psychometric properties of a preliminary 10-item version of IMG were investigated by employing an online survey data collected among Finnish and Danish population (N = 2,205). In Study 2, a 23-item version of IMG was developed based on further interview data and survey data collected among Canadian population (N = 1,322). The 23-item version of IMG revealed five factors of intrinsic motivations for gameplay: Relatedness, Autonomy, Competence, Immersion, and Fun. In Study 3, a third survey was conducted among Finnish and Japanese participants (N = 2,057) to design a Self-Determination theory (SDT) informed confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The CFA validated a 15-item version of IMG inventory, which can be utilized widely in studies on digital gaming and gamification to better understand player preferences

Digital Games as a Source of English Vocabulary for Finnish Writers

Peer reviewe

View, play and pay? – The relationship between consumption of gaming video content and video game playing and buying

Consuming live-streamed or pre-recorded gaming video content through video sharing services such as YouTube and Twitch has become a significant aspect of the modern gaming and online media culture. Although it has been argued that watching such content may replace some first-hand gaming activities, it has also been argued that consuming gaming video content may further increase both gaming activities and purchases related to gaming. This study provides the first empirical evidence on how the consumption of three popular types of gaming video content (game reviews, let’s plays and esports) affect the gameplay activity and game related purchasing behaviour and therefore extends our knowledge about digital consumer behaviour and its latest forms. Results indicate that all three forms of gaming video content have a positive association with time spent playing games. Moreover, gaming video consumption, especially the consumption of review video content, is positively associated with game purchasing behaviour

Kansainvälisiä ja kotimaisia kokemuksia cultural planning -menetelmästä : Kulttuurilähtöisen kaupunkikehittämisen mahdollisuudet suomalaisilla kaupunkiseuduilla. Loppuraportti 1/2017

siirretty Doriast

Exploring Gameful Motivation of Autonomous Learners

In this explorative study, we investigated motives of autonomous learners to participate in an online course, and how these motives are related to gameplay motivations, engagement in the course experience, and learning outcomes. The guiding premise for the study has been the idea that learning and game playing carry phenomenal similarities that could be revealed by scrutinizing motives for participating in a massive open online course that does not involve any intentionally game-like features. The research was conducted by analyzing survey data (N = 705) collected from individuals who had voluntarily participated in an open online course about artificial intelligence and its societal impact. The survey included an explorative Motives for Autonomous Learning (MAL) inventory. Exploratory factor analysis suggested that the MAL inventory consisted of six dimensions out of which four were consistent with factors that earlier research has associated with motives to engage with video games. Of the identified factors, the dimension that most clearly described autonomous and playful predispositions was found to be a main precedent for both experienced gamefulness of the learning experience and positive learning outcomes. In all, the results of this study demonstrated that playfulness and autonomy were both prominent and significant factors across the whole learning process